Garbage Disposal Repair & Replacement in Marietta, GA

The busiest day of the year for a garbage disposal is usually the day the family comes over. Mountains of peels, platters of bones, roasting pans full of drippings and a dishwasher running load after load all head for one kitchen drain. A little planning keeps a Marietta holiday from ending in a hurried call for garbage disposal repair and replacement between the main course and dessert.

A week before: give it a test run

Run the disposal with plenty of cold water and listen. A hum without grinding, a reset button that trips, a slow-draining sink or a damp spot under the unit are all easier to sort out on an ordinary weekday than with a full house. Clear out the cabinet so the disposal and the trap can be reached, and find the small hex key that frees a jammed plate. Most units have a socket for it in the center of the bottom.

The scraps behind most holiday trouble

• Potato peels. A few are fine. A whole sack's worth turns into a starchy paste that coats the drain.
• Bones and poultry skin. Large bones jam the plate; skin and gristle wrap around it.
• Grease and drippings. Liquid in the pan, solid in the pipe. Fat cools, sticks to the drain walls and catches everything that follows.
• Fibrous trimmings. Celery, onion skins, corn husks and green bean ends tangle rather than grind.
• Rice, pasta and stuffing. They keep swelling with water after they go down.

The simple answer is to send the bulk of these to the trash or the compost and let the disposal handle only what comes off the plates.

Feeding it during the cleanup

Scrape plates into the bin first, then rinse the remains into the sink. Feed the disposal a handful at a time with a strong flow of cold water, and keep it running a few seconds after the grinding sound eases so the slurry clears the trap. Pour cooled grease into a can or jar for the trash rather than down the sink, hot water or not. If several helpers are at the sink, one person running the disposal keeps it from being stuffed full while it sits off.

The dishwasher and the disposal on a busy day

In many kitchens the dishwasher drains through the disposal, so a chamber full of unground food can push dishwasher water back into the sink or leave it standing in the tub. Run the disposal until it is empty before starting each load. If the sink fills when the dishwasher drains, pause the dishwasher and run the disposal; if the water still will not go down, the blockage is in the pipe, not the unit.

If it jams or backs up mid-meal

A jam usually yields to the hex key under the unit once the power is off. For a backup, stop the dishwasher and stop adding water, and skip the chemical drain opener. A kitchen line packed with peels or grease calls for drain repair. If a toilet or tub gurgles or backs up when the kitchen drains, the trouble is farther down, possibly the main sewer line.

If the old unit has to be replaced

A holiday is sometimes the last straw for a tired disposal. If the motor has burned out or the housing leaks, the new unit is hung from the sink, the trap is lined up with its outlet, the dishwasher hose is moved over with the knockout removed, and everything is tested with water running. Alpha's garbage disposal service across Georgia covers the choice of model.

Marietta's permit rules

Marietta, in Cobb County, handles plumbing permits through the City of Marietta building division, and its homeowner permit page explains that plumbing permits are pulled by the professional doing the work rather than by the homeowner. Whether a particular disposal job needs one is a question for the division.

Holiday disposal questions from Marietta hosts

Can eggshells and coffee grounds go down the disposal?

They grind easily, which is why people assume they are harmless, but both turn into gritty sediment that settles in the trap and the low spots of the drain, where it binds with grease. On a busy cooking day, put them in the trash or the compost and keep the disposal for plate scraps.

Is it fine to pour grease down the disposal with hot water?

No. Hot water only carries the grease a little farther before it cools and clings to the pipe walls, where it traps food and builds into a blockage. Let drippings cool in the pan, pour them into a can or jar and put that in the trash. Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing them.

What should I do if the disposal stops while guests are here?

Turn it off and unplug it, then check for a jam by turning the plate with the hex key from underneath. Once it moves freely, press the reset button and try again with cold water running. If it still will not run, leave it off, hold the dishwasher, and wash the remaining dishes in the other bowl or by hand until it can be looked at.

After the last guest leaves

If the disposal hummed, leaked or gave up during your Marietta gathering, call Alpha Plumbing and Sewer at (404) 409-4448 to get the kitchen back to normal before the leftovers run out.